Gardens and Villas of Italy

Italy
is home to some of the most beautiful villas and gardens in the world and what
better way to see them than with seasoned travelers and gardeners as your
guides?Ron and Linda Williams of Garden
Travelers have joined forces with Troy Marden, a nationally known garden
expert, author and host of Nashville Public Television’s Volunteer Gardener
to create the trip of a lifetime. With stops including the highlights of Rome
and Florence, the world famous gardens of Villa d’Este and Isola Bella, the
towns of Cortona, Assisi and Stresa, and some of Italy’s most beautiful private
villas and gardens along the way, you’ll see the very best the country has to
offer.In addition to all of the
beautiful sites and scenery, we will enjoy some of the finest cuisine and wine
in Italy as we are treated to private meals on several of our stops.We are so excited about this new, joint
venture and we hope that you will join us on what is a trip you will surely be
talking about for many years to come.

May
14—Depart
the U.S. for Rome

May
15—Arrival
in Rome! Our private coach will meet us at the Rome airport and we will travel
the short distance to Ostia Antica,
the ancient harbor city of Rome where we will have a guided tour of the ruins,
considered by many to rival those of Pompeii, followed by a group lunch.We will then re-board our coach for a visit to the Etruscan tombs of Cerveteri, dating as far back as the 9th
century B.C.This site is off the
regular tour bus route and will give us an opportunity to see some of Italy’s
most ancient history firsthand.Our
final stop of the day will be our hotel in Rome, the Albergo Santa Chiara hotel.Located just one block behind the Pantheon there is a very good small
restaurant nearby where Ron and Linda eat often, as well as several other
choices in the immediate area.Lunch included.

May
16—After
breakfast this morning, we will meet our guide at 9 a.m. for a tour of Ancient
Rome.This will be an excellent
overview of the area around the Roman Forum and one of Rome’s most recognizable
sites, the Coliseum.Lunch will be on
your own today and for those who wish to see the Vatican, we will take cabs to the Vatican Museum.Our tour
there will include both the Museum highlights and St. Peters Basilica.For
those who may have visited the Vatican on prior trips, we will make
arrangements to visit the Borghese Gallery and one other site or you are
welcome to spend the remainder of the day shopping and exploring on your own!Lunch
and dinner on your own in Rome.

May
17—Today
we will have an early departure time of 8:30
a.m. for transfer to Cortona by
private coach. Our first stop will be the magnificent Villa d’Este in Tivoli, considered by many to be the masterpiece of
Italian gardens and now a UNESCO World Heritage site.With its impressive concentration of
fountains, nymphs, grottoes, plays of water, and music, it constitutes a
much-copied model for European gardens in the mannerist and Baroque
styles.We will not have a guide, but
Ron and Linda have visited many times and are well versed in the garden and
Troy will be on hand to discuss the garden’s features and plantings for those
who are interested. The fountains are especially wonderful and the view from
the top of the garden could only be described as breathtaking!

While we could linger at Villa d’Este
for the better part of the day, we’ll have to be on our way shortly as we
travel next to Castello Ruspoli
where we will view the garden and have lunch.
It is our hope that the Princess Claudia
Ruspoli will be in residence to join us. Ron and Linda have enjoyed the
food and the garden here on several occasions and Ron should be encouraged to
tell the story of knocking on the door for the first time!

The Tuscan countryside.

Our next stop, Villa Lante, is only 30 minutes away and is probably the
best-preserved Renaissance garden in existence. The inspirational geometry of
this garden must be seen to be believed.Every aspect of the garden is perfectly proportioned and detailed and
the Water Chain is one of the earliest and best preserved examples of a
stepping cascade.When our visit here
has concluded we will board our private coach for transfer to the Hotel San Luca in Cortona, where we will spend the next 5 nights.Breakfast,
lunch included.

May
18—Today
our travels take us to the beautiful city of Florence for a visit to Palazzo
Corsini, the home of Princess
Georgiana Corsini, where a very special craftsman fair will be taking place
which we will have the opportunity to enjoy. The remainder of our day will be
spent in Florence and for those of you visiting for the first time, a special
guided walking tour of the city’s core will be available. We will have part of
the afternoon to shop and explore before returning to our hotel in Cortona for
the night.Breakfast included.

﻿

Assisi, Italy

May
19—The
region of Umbria hugs the eastern
Tuscan border and is the only completely landlocked region of the Italian
peninsula. After breakfast, we will board our coach for Umbria where we will
visit the town of Assisi and its
magnificent cathedral where the remains of St.
Francis of Assisi are interred. No matter how many cathedrals you have seen
this one is not to be missed with its Upper and Lower Churches, the latter of
which holds the tomb and remains of St. Francis and several of his
followers.For lunch we will be treated to traditional Italian Barbeque in an old
stable in the region and we will visit two other small towns nearby before
returning to our hotel in Cortona.Breakfast, lunch included.

Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi, Italy

May
20—Today
we will depart for Villa Geggiano
where we will enjoy a tour of the garden and villa, as well as be treated to lunch.Two brothers run the winery and villa and one of the two (both are
wonderful!) will serve as our guide. “Around the enchanting hills of Chianti
Classico, world famous for their wines, their natural beauty and their
millenary history, just six kilometers North-East of Siena, is the
centuries-old Villa di Geggiano, home since 1527 of the Bianchi Bandinelli
family and its winery.The family
continues to manage the Villa and its precious surrounding vineyards with the
passion of those who thoroughly appreciate the beauty and richness of this
land.The Villa and garden, originally
built in the 14th century and completely renovated around 1780, have
been declared a National Heritage site and, with their original decorations and
furnishings, form an exceptional historical site where visitors are brought
back to the atmosphere of an elegant eighteenth century holiday mansion.”

This is one of the most special stops on
our itinerary and is one of Ron and Linda’s favorite private sites in all of
Italy.We are certain you will leave
feeling the same way.The site, the
food, the wine and the hospitality of the owners are second to none. When we
have finished, we will board our coach for a drive through the Tuscan
countryside to the town of San Gimignano,
famous for its dozen or so towers which form an unforgettable skyline. It also
has a wonderfully quaint town square, good shopping and some of the best gelato
you will have on the trip! At the end of the day, we will return to our hotel
in Cortona for the evening. Breakfast,
lunch included.

May
21—Our
stops today will include both Pienza
and Siena.In Pienza we will visit the Palazzo Piccolomini.Much-inspired by the Palazzo Rucellai in
Florence, this is Rossellino’s masterpiece.Inside there is the armory, the library with early printed books and the
Papal chamber with a Baroque bed.If the
three sides facing the town are similar and in harmony with pilasters and
entablatures, not so the fourth, with its three-story loggia and hanging garden
looking onto the sweeping landscape of the Orcia Valley. The square around the
Palazzo is Renaissance in style and very interesting.Pienza also has wonderful food and cheese
stores.We will have lunch at Montereggioni, an intact walled city.After lunch, we will make our way to Siena where we will meet our guide and
tour the inner core of the city before returning to our Cortona hotel.Breakfast,
lunch included.

Sunrise in Tuscany

May
22—Today
we make the final transfer of our trip, from Cortona to the beautiful town of Stresa on the shores of Lake Maggiore.We will leave Cortona at 9 a.m. and visit the
Corsini Winery for a tour of the
garden, the old winery and the villa. This winery has been in existence for at
least 500 years. At one point, the villa
had been uninhabited for 50 years, but the current residents have done a
marvelous job of restoration.We will
have lunch here, which will include
the Corsini wine.Ron and Linda have
been here on several occasions and feel sure that everyone will find this stop
a real treat.Our final destination of
the day will be Stresa and the Grand Hotel Bristol, where we will
spend the remaining days of our trip. Breakfast,
lunch and dinner included.

May
23—This
morning we depart our hotel at 9 a.m. for Villa
Cicogna Mozzoni for a private tour of the Villa, the garden and a private lunch in the Villa. This will
be another amazing visit to a private home and garden with the owner as our
host.Again, Ron and Linda have been
here several times and it is always a thrill and Troy will be available, as he
will be throughout the trip, to answer questions or lead discussions relating
to gardens, garden design and the wide variety of plants you will encounter
along the way.Lunch today will be our final
group meal and we should return to Stresa by 3:30 or 4:00.Breakfast,
lunch included.

May
24—The
final two days of our trip will be for you to explore Lake Maggiore and Stresa on your own and there is much to do!Stresa is a truly wonderful and relaxing
small town that you are sure to fall in love with. Today we have arranged for
private transport to Isola Bella—the
“Beautiful Island”—a treat that should not be missed.It is magical, to say the least, with its
magnificent Villa and a garden that will leave you at a loss for words.Of all of the gardens that Troy has visited
in Italy, this is one of his favorites and he will station himself around the
garden to talk about the garden’s design and its excellent collection of
plants.

After our visit to Isola Bella you will
be on your own to return to the mainland or to visit one of the other nearby
islands.Isola Pescatori is the smallest, but has a few interesting shops
and a couple of good restaurants that serve fresh fish caught directly from the
lake.Our recommendation would be to
visit Isola Madre, with its much
different but equally stunning garden and exceptional collection of plants, as
well as its own beautiful Villa. Breakfast
included.

May
25—Our
final day in Stresa is entirely yours, with free time to rest, relax and enjoy
your surroundings.There are several
things to do in the area and we are happy to make recommendations. Breakfast included.

May
26—Return
flight home, from Milan Malpensa Airport.

IMPORTANT
NOTE: Please note that departure times from
hotels each morning may vary based on that day’s tours.It is important to listen to all bus
announcements upon arrival to various hotels and sites and at the end of each
day for the following day’s departure time.Also, TRAVEL PLANS ARE MADE SEVERAL MONTHS IN ADVANCE AND MAY BE SUBJECT
TO CHANGE DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL.

Price:

The price of this trip is $3395.00 for the ground
package based on double occupancy.Included:Hotels, breakfast each day, private coach travel in Italy per itinerary,
admissions to sites visited as a group, guide services where noted, 9 meals,
taxes.The tip for the coach driver
is not included.The cost is based on a
minimum of 20 persons and an exchange rate of 1.25 and could be subject to
modification should either of these factors change unexpectedly.We try very hard not to do this and will
notify the group immediately should it become necessary.

$200.00 per person
deposit due by Dec. 1 (Deposits made prior to Dec. 1, 2012 will be fully
refundable until Dec. 1, 2012).A
payment of $1000.00 is due by Feb. 1, 2013.The final payment is due by April 1, 2013.Because of the small size of our groups,
prices and accommodations both at hotels and private gardens/estates are based
on group size.For this reason, it is
not possible for us to refund the cost of the trip, except for the deposit as
noted above, once you have committed to join us. For that reason, we suggest
that all travelers purchase Travel Insurance, which is addressed below.

Single
Supplement: While most people will travel as
couples or pairs, with spouses or friends, a single supplement will be
available should you wish to travel individually.Please feel free to inquire by emailing me at tbmgardens@gmail.com .

Airfare:

We have not included airfare in the
price of this trip, as many people today prefer to book their own air travel
using airline miles, credit card points or other methods.We will give a meeting time at the Rome airport
on May 15 and hope that everyone will make every effort to be there on time so
that we can depart by private coach for our first destination.Linda will be available to help book
international flights should you need assistance.

Travel
Insurance:

We highly recommend that you purchase
travel insurance so that you are covered in the event that unforeseen
circumstances would prevent you from traveling. We would be
happy to offer some suggestions and encourage you to buy the insurance as you
place your deposit.

Passports:

Current passports are required for
travel to nearly all destinations outside of the U.S. and Italy is no
exception.Please be sure that your passport is current or that you apply for
your passport (if you don’t have one) at
least 90 days prior to departure, and even further ahead of time is
preferable and highly encouraged.Better
to be safe than sorry!

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About Me

I have spent 30 years designing gardens, writing for gardening magazines, authoring gardening books and 2017 finds me celebrating the beginning of my 18th season as a co-host of Nashville Public Television's hit gardening show, Volunteer Gardener. In 1997, I made my first trip overseas and was officially bitten by the travel bug. Now, I'm sharing my 20 years of travel experience with you, leading garden, art, food and cultural tours both at home and abroad. New itineraries will be posted on this blog as they become available!